The reviews are in, and it looks like Mercy Kill is faring very well with readers around the blogosphere. We’ve gathered up some of the reviews and impressions from various Expanded Universe fansites and personalities. As always, venture into the reviews at your own risk if you haven’t read the book yet! If you’ve got a review you’d like us to add to this list, feel free to leave a comment in this post.
- Knights Archive was one of the first to post a review, praising Allston’s ability to craft a fun and engaging adventure.
- Aaron Goins was occasionally off-put by Allston’s use of humor, but overall found himself enjoying the book far more than he expected to. This was the first X-Wing novel Aaron read, and I can see where he’s coming from as far as the humor goes. It’s a definite change of pace for Expanded Universe fans that perhaps weren’t as exposed to the Bantam era novels, but for those that are, it’s a welcome return to years gone by.
- Pete Morrison of Lightsaber Rattling was impressed with how Allston allowed characters to shine in this book.
- EUCantina was perhaps the harshest and most down on the book, noting that it didn’t live up to the expectations of the reviewers, but giving it roughly average marks regardless. So far, this review seems to be the outlier.
- Author Bryan Young gushed about the book, saying that it played up all of Allston’s best traits. He echoed those sentiments on the podcast with us earlier this week, praising it as a fun book that did a great job matching the tonal qualities of the source material in the films.
- Fellow author Janine Spendlove likewise was impressed with the book, stating that it was well worth the thirteen year wait between X-Wing novels.
- Our own Emily and Bria contributed their own impressions to the blog. Both Emily’s review (with spoilers) and Bria’s (no spoilers!) were overwhelmingly positive.
A little earlier today, Nanci and I got an interesting press release in our inboxes from Lucasfilm, Del Rey, Dark Horse, and the other Star Wars IP publishing houses. This fall, you can participate in an event to celebrate literature and Star Wars.
We’re pretty excited about ‘Scoundrels,’ The Timothy Zahn-written Han Solo heist caper due out this year. After listening to three chapters of the story at Origins, I can say this is one of my most eagerly anticipated titles in years. It strikes me as a book that’s got a lot for long-time Expanded Universe fans, but more importantly, an entry point for new readers and ones that have drifted away over the years.
Bryan Young’s most recent novel, Operation: Montauk, is a mash-up of dinosaurs, Nazis, and time travel. That’s putting it simply, of course, but if any of those three themes don’t catch your attention…well, what’s wrong with you?
I read a lot—at least by any average person’s standards. Sure, there are plenty of people in fandom who can put me to shame, but I showed Brian my pinboard a while ago, and he commented that I’d read more fic in the past year than he’s read in his life—and that was just the fic. And I read everything from modern literary fiction to fanfiction.